DOCTOR BERKELEY's CAUTION AGAINST SOCINIANISM.
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A CAUTION AGAINST SOCINIANISM GIVEN IN A DISCOURSE PREACHED AT THE CATHEDRAL AND METROPOLITICAL CHURCH OF CHRIST, CANTERBURY; On GOOD FRIDAY, 1787. AND PUBLISHED FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE CHARITY-SCHOOLS IN THE PARISH OF ST CLEMENT DANES, WESTMINSTER.
By GEORGE BERKELEY, L.L.D. (LATE STUDENT OF CHRIST CHURCH, OXFORD,) VICE-DEAN OF CANTERBURY, CHANCELLOR OF BRECKNOCK, RECTOR OF SAINT CLEMENT DANES, WESTMINSTER, AND VICAR OF COOKHAM, BERKS.
CANTERBURY, PRINTED FOR SIMMONS AND KIRKBY, T. SMITH, AND FLACKTON AND MARRABLE; AND FOR
GARDNER, OPPOSITE ST CLEMENT'S CHURCH, STRAND, LONDON. MDCCLXXXVII.
ROM. v. 8.
GOD COMMENDETH HIS LOVE TOWARDS US, IN THAT, WHILE WE WERE YET SINNERS, CHRIST DIED FOR US.
THE awful event, which we, this day, commemorate, is by far the most important of any that ever took place upon the theatre of this world.
IT is that which, from the transgression of our first parents, a long line of prophets were commissioned to predict; which priests and sacrifices were appointed to prefigure, and which the revolutions of empires were contrived to introduce: It is that which reconciled us unto GOD, rescuing us from the tyranny of sin and the power of the grave. Yet in the whole gospel there is nothing against which the pride of human reason, and the perverseness of human prejudices have more obstinately opposed themselves, than the sacrifice of the everlasting and equal SON of GOD as a full, perfect, and sufficient satisfaction for the sins of the whole world.
In the very first age of Christianity, and while the precious blood of the world's Redeemer was yet recently shed at Jerusalem, there sprang up in the church a sect, which, ashamed of being the disciples of one who had been crucified as a malefactor, boldly affirmed that their Master had
not
suffered; but that, without tasting death, he was taken up into heaven, whilst Pilate and the Jews wreaked their impotent malice upon an airy phantom in his similitude.
To these heretics, after a few centuries succeeded the Impostor of Arabia—who, from motives of policy, denied the sufferings of CHRIST. The great scheme of universal redemption commenced with the fall, and its gracious design was, by degrees, to restore mankind to that state which they had forfeited in Adam.
BUT the sagacious deceiver well knew that if the death and resurrection were admitted,
that
design would be seen to be completed; and that his
own
pretensions of being divinely commissioned to close the seal of prophecy, and to communicate the last offer of mercy and instruction to lapsed humanity, must instantly fall to the ground.
WITH an effrontery then peculiar to himself, he denied the truth of a fact on which Christians reposed all their hopes, in which the Jews exulted with malicious triumph, and of which the history was spread over the whole civilized world.
THE success of Mahomet is well known, and it is likewise known that ever since his days the Christian church has been infested with a pestilent race of men, who, though they believe not in the inspiration of the Koran, and though they deny not the sufferings of HIM, at whose name St Paul directs that every knee should bow, yet do they lay no more
stress
on those sufferings, than upon the sufferings of
Socrates
or any other man who has laid down his life in attestation of the truth. If the Mahometan denies, like the Phantomist of more ancient times, the
reality
of the death of CHRIST, the Socinian, by denying its
efficacy,
sinks it to the level of common martyrdom; and though the fact itself be
not
questioned, its
end
and
design
is, in
his
creed, totally lost.
THERE is a living writer, a teacher of the gospel, and (if you will believe his adherents) a sincere Christian, who supports this horrid heresy with all his abilities, and who labours to disseminate it with astonishing zeal; whose followers are scattered all over England, and
against whom,
as they insinuate themselves into every company and commonly make their attacks upon the ignorant and the half-learned, every Christian ought to be upon his guard.
AGAINST Socinians, Arians, and all other enemies of the truth, the surest defence will be found to be the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of GOD. Would mankind take their faith from the holy scriptures, and
not
rest it upon the unstable foundation of human systems, and would no man presumptuously aim at being
wise beyond what is written,
heresies would soon vanish away.
BUT instead of pursuing a conduct so suitable to blind and erring mortals, we find the teachers of Christianity split into a thousand sects, and labouring
each
to support, by every art, and every sophism, the particular tenets of his
human
leader.
THE followers of Calvin, who style themselves the orthodox, most unwarrantably presume to circumscribe the goodness of GOD, when they confidently affirm that, although the sacrifice upon the cross made a satisfaction of value sufficient to ransom a thousand worlds, yet that however it was
not
offered for all mankind, but
only
for the
elected few
; and that
all
but those
few
were ACCORDING TO THE UNSEARCHABLE COUNSEL OF GOD'S WILL AND FOR THE GLORY OF HIS SOVEREIGN POWER, PASSED BY AND ORDAINED TO DISHONOUR AND WRATH.
Now that any man, who loves his brethren who are upon earth, and entertains
just
notions of his Father who is in heaven, should believe such doctrines as these, is absolutely impossible: it is indeed always to be dreaded, lest he upon whom in early youth these tenets have been inculcated as the truths of GOD, should by the proneness of mankind to run from one extreme to another, be led in the maturity of age, to deny the efficacy of CHRIST'S death
altogether,
and to attempt to bring down that adorable Person, from the dignity of the uncreated Redeemer of the world, to the level of an ordinary martyr.
SUCH was the origin and progress of the person, who is at present busied in perverting the faith of these nations. He was educated, he informs us, in the firm persuasion that the horrible opinions, which have been enumerated, are the doctrine of the
prophets and apostles
; and without giving himself the trouble (as it should seem) to inquire whether these things be really so, he has thought proper, in order to get rid of what in his riper years he finds it
impossible
to
believe,
to abandon the inspiration of the Scriptures, and has not scrupled to call St Paul an inconclusive reasoner.
BUT if we search the bible from Genesis to the book of St John's Revelation, we shall not find any of its inspired writers
presuming
to say what the Almighty
could or could not
have done. God's ways are indeed often declared to be
past finding out,
but there is enough of them revealed to satisfy us, that they are all founded in infinite wisdom, that they all flow from perfect goodness, that he who made us is
no respecter of persons,
that he will have
all
men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth, and that he commendeth his love towards us in that,
while were yet sinners, CHRIST died for us.
The evangelical prophet teaches that
the soul of the Messiah was made an offering for sin, that he was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquity, that the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and that by his stripes we are healed.
And the great instrument of the world's conversion informs us,
that GOD, even our Father, hath loved us and given us everlasting consolation through grace; that CHRIST also hath loved us, and given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice unto GOD for a sweet smelling favour,
and St Peter adds that
there is none
other
name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Neither Prophets nor Apostles presume to limit this great and glorious, and ON GOD'S PART THIS FINISHED, salvation to a
chosen
few: on the contrary, we are expressly taught, that our Redeemer
gave himself a ransom for
all,
that he was made a little lower than the angels, that by the grace of GOD he should taste of death for
every man
; that the LORD is long suffering towards us, not willing that any should perish, but that
all
should come to repentance.
In the volume of inspiration we learn, concerning the blessed Friend of sinners,
that in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily,
and this is a faithful saying (intended to exhilarate alike the hearts of all Adam's sons) that CHRIST
promised,
JESUS
exhibited,
came into the world to save sinners,
without any exception whatever, whether of persons or cases.
SUCH being the infinite love of GOD to mankind in CHRIST JESUS, we cannot wonder that when first manifested to the world, it produced its proper effects, that it put an end to all selfishness and division; and indeed under the real influence, and full belief of this great mystery of divine love, there seems to be no room left for any thing else amongst Christians, but returns of love to GOD, and emanations of love towards one another.
CHRISTIANITY one would think, needs but to be
fairly
stated in order to its being found worthy of universal acceptation as an act of grace, sealed with the royal signet of heaven, proposing and providing the
Second
Adam, as a second parent or proxy for lapsed mankind immediately when the
first
Adam had, without our consent, forfeited the inestimable privilege of a glorious immortality. Our holy religion, when attentively considered in this true point of light will ever be found equally comfortable, delightful and interesting to men of all descriptions, every individual of which is on the Christian plan re-admitted to the same covenant of grace with GOD that Adam himself enjoyed in paradise.
PERSONS who meditate with frequency and attention upon these glad tidings will not fail to experience their efficacy to fill agreeably the vacuity of human life. When our spirits droop, these truths of GOD will chear them. When the stings of conscience torment us, if we be truly penitent,
they
will dispel our fears, confirm and augment our hopes, disarm the king of terrors, and will open a joyous prospect, beyond the grave, into the heavenly Canaan and the new Jerusalem; in which city of our reconciled Father there are mansions, many mansions, for receiving them
who, through faith, and patient continuance in well-doing, seek for glory and immortality.
THE plain and numerous declarations of holy writ, on this subject, militate so forcibly against the Calvinist, who denies the
universality
of CHRIST'S satisfaction, as well as against the Socinian, who denies that satisfaction
altogether,
that it would be astonishing how either of those sects should have gained ground in the world, did not daily experience evince that mankind are more ready to torture every thing into an agreement with their own pre-conceived opinions, than to try the truth of those opinions by the word of GOD.
BUT if CHRIST died for
all
men, why (it may be asked) have we not reason to expect that
all
men shall be
saved?
Is it not detracting from the merits of the great sacrifice of this day to suppose that it was offered for any
one
person who shall not
ultimately
reap all the
benefits
which it was intended to purchase? By no means! The obstinate rejection of CHRIST'S gospel by an incorrigible sinner may make
him miserable,
but the rejection cannot detract either from the
mercy
of the Father or from the
merits
of the Son. There have been instances, (and amongst our own fellow subjects and in the passing century) of men redeemed from slavery, who have yet refused to quit the place of their captivity, and who
defeated,
though surely without
lessening,
the beneficence of him who paid their stipulated ransom. It is even so with us. The full price of our redemption from sin and Satan has been paid, but if we
refuse
to
change
our masters; if we
will
not
accept
the glorious liberty of the sons of GOD, when offered to us
without money and without price,
our ruin must be imputed to ourselves, and not to our
merciful Creator,
who desires not the misery of his creatures, nor to our adorable Redeemer
who gave his life a ransom for all.
THE first great purpose for which CHRIST died was to pay the penalty of our first parent's transgression, to rescue us from the everlasting power of the grave, and to put us anew into a capacity of obtaining and of relishing that happiness, in the
next
world which is to be considered as in some sort the
natural
effect of holiness in
this.
CHRIST our passover, by his own oblation of himself once offered, hath without any co-operation of ours, completed this mighty work; for
as in Adam all die, even so in CHRIST shall
all,
even the
wicked
as well as the
righteous,
be made
alive
;
but,
observe,
the righteous only shall rise to happiness.
OUR blessed LORD suffered to redeem us from death and to purchase for us the grace of the gospel covenant, but it was no part of
his
design, nor is it any part of
that
covenant, to cancel the eternal obligations of
piety and virtue. These
were in force before man fell—they are equally in force now that he is redeemed, and by them shall we be tried at that great day, for which all other days were made. For tribulation and anguish, saith the book of truth, must be
the portion of every soul of man that doth evil, of the Jew first and also of the Gentile.
SUCH is the nature of the redemption wrought by CHRIST, such the gracious terms of that covenant of mercy, which by his precious bloodshedding, he hath obtained for us. This is
all
that is expressly revealed concerning it, and it is
all
that we are required to
believe.
FROM the disproportion between a finite and an infinite mind it seems improbable that, even in heaven itself, the
one
should ever be in circumstances to judge of
all
the proceedings of
the other
; because a
certain
judgment of the justice and goodness of GOD (any more than of
any other
governor) cannot be formed from a
partial
view of his dispensations.
CHRIST really was,
all
that the Mosaic ritual exhibited in types, and instead of having been a sacrifice
only
in figure; all the sacrifices which preceded him were merely figurative of Him.
CHRIST is stiled our Passover—He is said to have been sacrificed for us, and we may reasonably conclude that without a
necessity
for such a process, it would never have existed. Now if CHRIST is
our
Passover,
His
blood must do for us what the blood of the paschal lamb did for the Hebrews in Egypt; but that blood was
expiatory,
and therefore, so is
Christ's.
BELIEVE not then, I pray you,
assertions,
however confident, that such an atonement was
altogether needless,
and that therefore the passages of scripture, which seem to teach it, are nothing more than
metaphorical expressions.
But rather reflect that you are taught by unerring wisdom concerning the redemption of your souls, that it is a mystery into which even the
angels
(who surely knew more of the divine counsels than the most acute Socinian on earth)
desire to look,
and do not
fully comprehend,
and therefore
we
may well rest contented with the plain, though narrow view of it, which is laid before us.
Prying
into this mystery, like gazing on the sun, begins in
pain,
and ends in
blindness.
IT must surely be granted, that forgiveness of sin on account of the vicarious sufferings of our blessed LORD is indeed a method admirably calculated at once to repress presumption, to discourage men from repeating their transgressions, to give them a deep sense of the odiousness of sin, and to convince them of the excellency of the divine laws, and the indispensable necessity of paying a willing obedience to them.
IN this dispensation
mercy and truth are met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other,
and whilst a guilty world was received into the divine favour, the most awful warning was held out to
that
world—and, indeed, to the whole intelligent creation, which it was possible even for
Omnipotence itself
to
give.
IF after having seen our Saviour, in the garden, deprecating in vain that fearful cup which
we
had
deserved
; if after having beheld him hanging on the cross, and heard him in the agony of his soul crying out,
MY GOD, MY GOD, why hast thou forsaken me?
If, after all this, we can still continue
unmoved,
it does not appear probable that we should be persuaded to forsake our sins and follow our Saviour, by a prospect either of the joyful effects of piety, or the miserable consequences of guilt; and how, in the name of common sense, can we hope to
escape wretchedness in the extreme, if we neglect so great salvation.
WHAT then remains but that (in the strength of our ever-blessed Redeemer) we
cast away from us all our transgressions whereby we have transgressed, and make us a new heart and a new spirit,
that so we may, on the approaching festival, receive the holy communion of the body and blood of our Saviour CHRIST, with a full trust in GOD'S mercy, and with a quiet conscience.
WHAT
Our
repentance
is weak and unworthy, and fit to be
repented
of, and all our
righteousness
is as
filthy rags.
How then dare we appear in the presence of GOD! there is nothing before us but
condemnation!
there is nothing in ourselves whence any
comfort
or
assurance
can arise! all is
darkness.
But, as the
serpent
was lifted up in the wilderness, so ought we to look by
faith
unto our great
High-priest
who was lifted up upon the cross for us,
that whoever
believeth
in him should have
eternal life
;
and although our
faith
be weak, yet, for our comfort be it remembered, the
virtue
is not in our faith, which is merely the
band
that reaches the medicine to us. The whole
virtue
is in the
medicine,
in the all-sufficient satisfaction which EMANUEL has made for us, in his own
person,
wholly without us, though applied inwardly by
faith,
which itself is also the gift of GOD.
remains, but that we should this day
return unto the LORD our GOD, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and repents him of the evil.
WE believe, Lord, help thou our unbelief. Father, we have sinned against heaven and before thee, and are no more worthy to be called thy sons. But thou art the same Lord whose property is always to have mercy and to forgive, grant us therefore, gracious Lord, whensoever we approach thy holy table,
so
to eat the flesh of thy dear Son JESUS CHRIST, and to drink his blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body, and our souls washed through his most precious blood, and that we may evermore dwell in him and he in us!
Now unto GOD that loved us and hath given us everlasting consolation through grace—unto the holy and undivided Trinity—to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost be ascribed equal honour by the church militant on earth and triumphant in heaven.
FINIS.